July 24, 2025— BOSTON

The Maternal Health Action and Resource Center (MHARC) team, part of the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ)™, announces the launch of the MaternalHealthAction.org website. This newly established national resource center, funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), marks a significant step forward in the national effort to advance maternal health. The resource center is designed to provide access to evidence-based strategies and guidance with the purpose of enhancing and strengthening State Maternal Health Innovation (MHI) recipients’ ability to improve maternal health outcomes for all populations in their communities.

In October 2024, NICHQ announced receiving the notice of award to lead the MHARC project over a five-year period. The launch of the national resource center is one of the key deliverables of this initiative. Since the project’s inception in September 2024, NICHQ has successfully assembled a dedicated MHARC team and convened MHARC Collaborative partners, including the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP), the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), HealthConnect One, and ESW Consultants. Additionally, the NICHQ MHARC team has recruited members of the Maternal Health Action Alliance representing a multitude of national and community-based maternal and child health (MCH) organizations.

The MHARC Collaborative is actively engaged in providing capacity building assistance (CBA), training, and technical assistance (TTA) to 42 State MHI recipients across the U.S., alongside other HRSA maternal health grantees. Each month, MHARC convenes all grantees for their Connection and Action Calls designed to foster engagement, spark collaboration, and provide space for group discussions around shared strategies and topics among the State MHI grantees. These topics range from creating statewide maternal health strategic plans and implementing comprehensive evaluation plans to authentically engaging communities. Furthermore, grantees have access to a cadre of subject matter experts who provide group TTA and individual support, as well as assistance with their MCH policy goals.

“With the launch of the national resource center, we’re not just sharing adaptive strategies and guidance—together, we’re building a platform for collaboration and innovation, where every resource and connection made is a step toward improving the lives of mothers and their babies across the U.S.,” said Stacey C. Penny, DrPH, MPH, MSW, Executive Project Director at NICHQ.

Available to the public and geared toward supporting State MHI recipients nationwide, the national resource center features a directory of maternal health resources, a regularly updated blog offering insights from MHARC members, and a news section highlighting key updates and communications around MHI. Learn more about MHARC and the work they are doing to help improve maternal health outcomes and address the significant disparities faced by disadvantaged populations. Visit MaternalHealthAction.org and follow MHARC on social media.

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MHARC is committed to providing reliable, accurate resources that will increase the recipient’s ability to improve maternal health outcomes for all populations in their communities in order to advance maternal health in the U.S. Some of the resources may be primarily informational and others may be oriented more toward capacity-building to implement a program or action. Read our full resource usage disclaimer here.